EmberlineOrder pickup

The gallery

Proof, in smoke

A week at the pit, in pictures. Everything shot in the room it happened in.

Peppered brisket on the cutting block, bark black as the pit room behind it — First slice off the flat, 11:02 a.m.

Knife easing through a smoked chuck, steam still coming off the bark — Moist end, cut to order.

Spare ribs sliced on the board, smoke ring bright under a mahogany bark — Spares at the bend. No falling off the bone here.

Burnt ends piled in a paper-lined basket with hush puppies and hand-cut fries — Saturday: burnt ends, hush puppies, tallow fries.

Slow Pull sandwich stacked with pulled pork, vinegar slaw and pickled onion — The Slow Pull, leaning but holding.

Hot link under the knife, juice beading on the cutting board — Thursday links, first cut.

Pickup tray of pulled pork, skillet mac, potato salad, slaw and the sauce lineup — A two-meat tray dressed for the road.

Offset smoker open with brisket on the racks and the firebox burning below — Big Alma with her door open, week forty-something.

Oak splits burning down to coals against the black brick of the pit room — Burning down splits for the overnight cook.

Bed of embers glowing orange in the dark — The ember line, holding at 250.

Open-faced smoked pork on grilled bread with a hibiscus lemonade behind — Off-menu open-face, hibiscus lemonade back.

The dim bar at Emberline, bottles backlit, three regulars in silhouette — The bar at 8:40 p.m., last hour of service.

Photography is royalty-free stock standing in for client photos — full credits in the project's CREDITS.md.